What Should a Breeder Provide?

A.  Sales contract with the dog’s name and registration number, or litter number, its parents’ names and registration numbers, its date of birth and sex, and explanation of any guarantees and agreements such as neutering requirements, and signature of both seller and buyer.

B.  Registration paper or application form properly filled out and signed.

C.  Complete record of vaccinations, worming and veterinary exam.

D.  A supply of food currently being fed to the puppy and instructions for care and feeding.

E.  Certifications:

OFA: The Orthopedic Foundation of Animals evaluates hip x-rays submitted for evidence of Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD). Dogs over two years of age with normal hips are issued a certification number. It is believed that by only breeding those dogs with OFA certification that CHD can be eliminated. CHD is a progressive syndrome, which results in deformed hip joints and lameness.

CERF: The Canine Eye Registry Foundation collects reports from eye examinations by board certified veterinary ophthalmologists. Dogs over a certain age, depending upon the breed, that have no evidence of any kind of eye defect are issued a certification number for ONE year. Since some defects can develop later in life, dogs must be re-certified annually. Eye defects in Belgian Malinois include cataracts and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)

PennHip: PennHip is another method used to evaluate hip x-rays submitted for evidence of CHD. Dogs may be evaluated younger than two years of age. PennHip measures laxity in the joint which can indicate whether or not there is likelihood of a dog developing CHD.

GDC: The Institute for Genetic Disease Control (GDC) evaluates CHD, other orthopedic diseases, eye and many other diseases as well. GDC records their evaluations in an open registry and thus all evaluations are available to the public. OFA is a closed registry